Happy Valentine's Day! What better way to celebrate this day then to read a little ZackXAeris? Thanks to all those who have read and reviewed the past chapters, I greatly appreciate it. Oh…and don't flame me because you don't like Zack and Aeris and that Aeris belongs with Cloud or whatever…I mean…this is in the Zack and Aeris section. Also, I'm not changing anything in the first story. It is as it is. Sorry if you didn't like some of the character drama/relationships. I enjoy all couples and I don't think it'd be quite the same without the conflicts. Either way, I hope you continue with the story even if you don't like some of the pairings. Anyways, enough of all that. Let's get this new chapter posted. I hope you all enjoy this new chapter! –Annubis
The Decision Between Life or Death:
A Second Chance
Chapter 33
Zack concentrated all the energy he could muster into the miniature orb in his fingers. Blood seeped from his wounds, but he paid no mind to them. The damaged wings clinging to his shoulder blades twitched involuntarily.
Cloud watched the man with extreme caution. He had to stay on his toes in case Zack went into another mental fit. His fingers snaked around the handle of his sword. He cocked his head to the side, his bangs flopping.
"I think its okay now." Tifa's soothing voice interrupted the man's thoughts.
"I know." Cloud nodded slowly. "I just want to make sure. Wouldn't want to take any chances."
The brunette only shook her head in response.
"Love…" a treacherous moan sounded above the pillar within the center of the crater.
"Sephiroth?" Tifa lifted her head.
"He's still alive?"
Tifa gave Cloud a worried stare. "You…think he'll last much longer?"
"Not even Sephiroth could live through those wounds." Tifa's spiky haired companion spoke. He shook his head in disappointment. "Especially now that Jenova's abandoned him."
"Her…love…" Sephiroth mumbled to himself. His body was like a block of ice. He shivered like a dying leaf on a tree. "She said…she loved me?"
"What's he going on about?" Cid grumbled to himself as he dug a screwdriver into a crack in Barret's damaged gun-arm.
"I…I don't know." Yuffie stared upward at the pillar, watching the droplets of blood drip from the top surface. "I think he's dying."
"Surprised he is still alive at all." Vincent almost growled. He was inspecting his melted barrel, wondering how he would ever return it to its pristine shape.
"Anybody mind telling us the whole story?" Tseng's voice rang out in the cold crater.
"Yeah, what the hell's goin' on?" the red haired Turk relaxed, leaning against a rock wall.
"It's going to be a long story." Red XIII stated. He watched Zack warily from across the room.
"Seeing as the threat has already been taken care of, I think we have the time." Tseng folded his arms.
Red XIII sat upright. He shook his mane every now and then as he spoke, retelling of the events that had taken place over the past couple months. The Turks listened intently. Every now and then Elena's eye would run across the scene capturing a glance of the dead bodies on the floor and then drifting to watch the ever more slouching form of Zack. He seemed to worsen by the second. She swallowed thickly, unsure of whether or not she should say something.
'Come on, Aeris. Wake up.' Zack sighed. He was getting very light headed. He decided to talk, in order to keep himself awake.
"Wakey wakey, Aeris. Time to get up." Zack mumbled softly. "Everything's going to be fine. Remember? Cloud and I are going to take you to the Golden Saucer. You love that place." A faint smile crossed his features as he spoke. More of his red fluid poured from the bullet wounds in his body. "Beginning to get used to the feeling…Being shot I mean."
He spoke to himself silently, not sure what he was doing anymore. The man grinned widely, eyes closed.
"Poor ma. She's going to be pissed when I tell her what happened." The man slowly fell forward. He caught himself, leaning over Aeris' body with an arm stretched out and a palm laying flat on the ground. He let out a grunt of pain, opening his eyes. "I'm s, s, sorry Aeris. I didn't mean to hurt you. You know that, right?"
Zack, still leaning over the woman's form, turned his head to the side to look at her sleeping face. A bead of sweat fell from his brow; blood trickled down his arm slopping to the floor.
"Right, Aeris?" he laughed nervously. He asked her again, "Right?" but there was no answer.
"Right!?" the man situated himself. He straddled her, hands on either side of her head. Zack watched her with widening eyes. He leaned in close. "Aeris?"
There still was no answer. Aeris was not waking up.
"Ah, God! Aeris!?" the man shouted, the orb was lying on the ground, forgotten. .
"Zack!" Tifa trotted up to the man. She was halted by Cloud's grip. "What?"
"I…don't want you getting close." Cloud murmured. He hated the taste of the words in his mouth.
"But, he needs our help!" Tifa shrugged Cloud's hand off her shoulder. "What if it was me on the ground? What if I was in Zack's position? Would you not help me…? Because of Jenova?"
"You know it's not like that." Cloud frowned. He lowered his head.
"You can't possibly be scared of him." Tifa turned to face Zack. She watched him pitifully. "Look at him, Cloud."
Zack shuddered. His fingers laced with the curly hair on Aeris' head. Distraught, he screamed out in pain, resting his forehead on hers.
"That's all I can do." Cloud sighed loudly.
"What do you mean?" The woman gasped.
"What can I do? I'm not an Ancient." Cloud shrugged, feeling the sudden aching in his heart. Aeris wasn't moving. She wasn't breathing and she sure as hell wasn't getting up on her own.
"Aeris. Come on, babe. Wake up." Zack frowned. He rarely called her babe, and when he did she hated it. "Get up. Talk to me."
He lifted her up into his arms, pressing her body into his chest.
"Breathe Aeris." The man choked back a sob."Please. I'm sorry!" the man cried. He rocked back and forth, the woman in an embrace.
Zack snatched up the green orb once again, looking at it sadly. "I'm going to make you breathe. You are going to come back."
Cloud and Tifa watched silently as Zack resumed his previous actions, closing his eyes and concentrating very hard. After a minute or so he opened his eye. Nothing was happening. There was no glow from Aeris' materia. There was no magic flowing from the orb. Zack growled in frustration and closed his eyes again. He squeezed the orb all the more. Then he opened his mouth and spoke.
"What's he saying?" Tifa whispered.
"I…I don't know. But I think it's what the Ancients speak." Cloud watched in wonder, his mouth gaping.
The sound emitted from Zack's dry lips and echoed in the open space. Slowly, one by one, everyone in the room watched the man and listened. They were awed by the sound.
"Didn't know he knew the language too." Tseng whispered.
"He is an Ancient." Yuffie pressed.
"Indeed." Tseng nodded, ignoring Yuffie's edge.
"There!" Shelke's voice suddenly interrupted.
"What?" Barret asked the young girl.
"Kadaj! I see him! Help me!" the girl leaned over the edge further more. "I'm going down!"
"Not without help!" Vincent strode over to the young woman. He looked over the edge. Sure enough, lying on an overhang of rock above the Lifestream lay a soaked Kadaj.
"He must've climbed up!" the young girl hopped happily.
"I'll go. You stay here." Vincent slowly descended the rocky surface.
"Insignificant…clones…" Sephiroth stared at Shelke. The young woman gave the man a glare.
"In your eyes, maybe." She muttered grumpily.
"Dead. What use to you?" Sephiroth scoffed.
"…" Shelke turned away from the man's prying eyes. She quickly wiped at hers, feeling her heart aching more each second Kadaj was gone. "Hurry, Vincent." The girl sniffled.
"I hope he's okay." Yuffie whined to herself, thinking about Kadaj's safety.
"You see what happened to him?" Barret raised a brow. "Boy's lucky to still have a body."
"We all are." Cid muttered.
"Quiet…" Red XIII lifted an ear.
Zack continued his prayer, his lips moving on their own accord. It was as if he was overtaken by something else, like in the way he had been taken over by Jenova earlier. It was like an old nursery rhyme that just came to mind. Zack's eye's opened, showing their pale grey, purple. The mako glow faded quickly, flowing to the orb.
"It's working." Tifa bit her lower lip, smiling with anticipation.
"…" Cloud only stared. He noticed the glow leave Zack's eyes.
Light spilled from the orb downward onto Aeris' form. Zack gasped loudly, feeling a strange force pull outward from inside him.
'I'll find a way.' The man caught his breath and concentrated even harder. 'Come on, Aeris!'
The orb shown brighter and brighter, a high pitched whine sounded as the magic flowed from the orb and the spell worked on Aeris' body.
"He's doing it!" Tifa cheered, hopping.
"Damn it!" Cloud stepped forward, his weapon dragging behind him.
"What?" Tifa jumped in surprise at the man's sudden cry.
"Zack!" Cloud dropped his sword and ran toward the man.
"Cloud!?" Tifa followed after.
Vincent climbed over the edge of the rocky drop off. Shelke fidgeted nervously. She grabbed Kadaj's shoulders and pulled him off of Vincent's back and laid him gently on the floor.
"Something's up." Vincent raised his head. He hopped to his feet and trotted toward the where Zack was. "Shelke… take care of him." the man called over his shoulder. Slowly, the others pursued in Vincent's direction.
'I made this mess…Now I'm going to fix it.' Zack smiled to himself. He felt the soft tingle of his own life force clinging on the very edge of his fingertips.
"Zack! Don't!" Cloud skid to a stop.
It was too late. The bright light of the spell quickly faded and Zack dropped backward onto the floor.
"Zack!" Cloud dropped to his knees. He watched his friend on the floor.
"What happened!?" Tifa shrieked.
"He…He pushed himself too hard, that's all." Cloud shook his head to himself reassuringly.
"Pushed himself? You mean!?"
"I'm…I'm not sure." Cloud frowned. "Zack, buddy. You gonna wake up? The party isn't over yet."
"Aeris?" Zack whispered.
Cloud let out a deep sigh of relief.
"You scared the shit out of me." Cloud helped raise the man to sitting position. Zack opened his eyes slowly. The sight only scared Cloud more.
Zack's eyes were dull in color, there was almost no pigmentation. His pupils were dilated and his breathing was labored.
"Hey." Zack whispered. He leaned forward. Cloud grabbed the man's shoulders to help support him. Zack slowly lifted a hand to Aeris' forehead. "Why…isn't she awake?"
"Zack…You need to rest." Cloud lifted his hand, staring at his red stained palm. "Shit…"
"She's not awake, Cloud. Why isn't she awake?" Zack mumbled to himself. He currently saw two women lying on the floor before him. He turned to look at Cloud, his face pale.
"I…I don't know, Zack." Cloud stuttered.
"I did it all. I did what they told me." Zack's eyes rolled back momentarily.
"They?" Tifa whispered.
"The voices. I think…I heard…the planet…" Zack gulped. He slowly looked back down at the woman on the floor.
Zack jumped, being met by a gentle hand on his cheek. His dying eyes stared into a vibrant green.
"Hey!" Zack tried to smile.
"I told you I'd come back when it was all over." A soft voice sounded from the woman on the floor. Her fingers lightly traced patterns over Zack's cheek.
"Ya did…" Zack nodded slowly. "I'm glad." With that the man dropped backward again.
"Z, Zack!?" Aeris struggled to sit up. Tifa helped to support the woman while Cloud did the same with Zack. "What's wrong with him!?"
Aeris scooted over to Zack's side. "Zack!" She touched his cheek once again, feeling the cold temperature of his skin. "Oh no!" she gasped, her eyes immediately tearing up.
"What's happened?" Tseng asked as the group approached them.
"Zack. He used too much of his power. He's very weak." Tifa informed.
"He's dying!" Aeris spat out quickly. She looked over her shoulder. Her hand flew out toward the green orb lying on the floor only a few feet away. "My materia!"
"No!" Zack's hand gripped the woman's arm.
"Zack!" she looked down at the black haired man. Seeing his eyes so pale saddened the woman. She missed his vibrant blue eyes that were always so full of life.
"I…tried too hard to bring you back. You can't help me…not now." The man whispered, staring at the rock wall beside them all.
"But I have to! There's no question about it!" Aeris held the man's hand. She laced her fingers in his.
"Come on, Aeris." Zack took a ragged breath.
"We're going to leave. We're going to make it out of here, you hear me, Zack? You and I are going to get out of here. Take a long vacation?" the woman bit her lip, ignoring the tears dropping down her cheeks.
"No…" Sephiroth muttered aloud. "NO!"
With his last bit of strength, Sephiroth lifted himself up from off the ground. He wobbled back and forth a bit. It was hard to maintain balance.
"You…" Sephiroth breathed heavily, coughing on the air that refused to enter his torn lungs. He toppled to a knee and grabbed his sword. "You said you loved me!"
"What!?" Cloud raised his head.
"Look out!" Tifa cried.
Sephiroth had lunged rather ungracefully off the pillar and was now barreling toward them all, his sword aimed at Zack and Aeris.
Cloud cursed, he had dropped his sword once he saw what Zack had done to Aeris earlier. He wouldn't be quick enough to stop the man.
"You're coming with me!" Sephiroth growled eyes on Aeris. The young woman raised her head, a frightened look on her face.
"She ain't goin anywhere with ya!" Cid yelled. The pilot hopped in front of where Aeris and Zack lay, his spear held with both hands. He lifted it to block the vertical swoop of Sephiroth's sword.
SLASH!
"CID!"
The sword had sliced through Cid's weapon like it was made of paper. The tip had sliced downward across the top of the man's shoulder and down part of his chest on the right side.
"Damn it!" Cid grunted, falling to the side.
Sephiroth tumbled and fell to the floor.
"Hold it right there!" Elena called out, desert eagle in the silver haired man's face. "Move and I blow your #&#&# head off!"
"Cid! You alright!?" Tifa stood, helping the man stay on his feet.
"Ah, it's nothing…" Cid mumbled, looking down at himself as his shirt quickly became wet and stained. "Aw damn…Shera's gonna kill me."
"Why…why don't you sit down?" Tifa led the pilot to the floor and helped prop him up against the wall.
"Ya know…I don't think I've ever lost…this much…blood." Cid lowered his head.
"Try not to think about it." Tifa patted the man's shoulder. She tried to make it not seem as bad as it looked. To tell the truth, she wasn't sure how fatal that wound was.
"Hey Cid." Barret nodded toward the man.
"Eh?" the pilot looked up, squinting.
"You look like shit." Barret chuckled.
"Still look better than your face does." Cid guffawed.
"Aw shit." Barret shook his head, sitting next to the man.
Sephiroth ached for revenge. He lifted the hilt of his sword, knocking Elena's weapon from her hands. Elena yelped in surprise, alerting everyone.
"Aeris!" Zack somehow pushed himself upward off the floor, wrapping his arms around the woman protectively.
Sephiroth jumped forward, throwing his sword at the man holding Aeris. Cloud leaned to the side, reaching out for the flying weapon. His hands grabbed the sword. He winced in pain as his palms were sliced by the blade. It wasn't enough to stop it though.
"GAH!" Zack grunted. He pushed against Aeris to get her away. The woman gasped loudly, leaning back, her hands on his shoulders as the tip of Sephiroth's blade cut through Zack's torso and flew only inches away from her face. A trickle of blood dripped down the woman's cheek, barely scathed by the menacing blade.
Then Sephiroth dropped to the floor.
"ZACK!" Aeris screeched.
"I…Told you…" Sephiroth chuckled to himself, watching the blood seep from Zack's new wound.
"Stop it!" Aeris screamed at the silver haired man.
"Aer, Aeris." Zack gasped. He choked on his blood.
"No." Aeris whimpered.
"Damn it!" Cloud held onto his hands.
"Just…die already." Sephiroth growled.
"Not…until you do." Zack coughed.
"I'll kill you all over again!" Sephiroth struggled to get up.
"Don't move!" Tseng was in Sephiroth's face, weapon pressed against the man's forehead. He pulled back the hammer.
"WAIT!" a new voice interrupted the crater.
Vincent felt a shiver run down his spine. It was a voice he hadn't heard in a lifetime.
"Please. Don't kill him!" A woman stood in the archway of the tunnel leading into the crater. She was breathing heavily like she had just run a marathon.
"Who the hell is that?" Reno folded his arms.
"Quite the party…" Rude added.
"Please…don't kill my son." The woman gasped.
"Lucrecia…" Vincent stared at the woman with such surprise.
"Who?" Cid lifted his head.
"You know who, you idiot!" Yuffie kicked the man's leg.
"Oh god! Zack!" Aeris held onto the man in her arms.
'What should I do? Should I remove the blade?' the girl's lip wavered.
"Son?" Sephiroth asked, laughing.
"Please…Sephiroth…I am your real mother." The woman made her way to the staring group of people on the floor.
"Impossible." Sephiroth cursed. "My mother was Jenova."
"You were only infused with Jenova's cells while still an embryo!" the woman shouted. "For so many years…so many years I wanted to hold you in my arms. To hear you cry, to hear you laugh." The woman kneeled down before the silver haired man.
"To hear your first words. To watch you crawl, walk, go to school. Do all the things normal kids do." Lucrecia looked down at Sephiroth in pity. "But your father…"
Vincent shivered again at the way she introduced Hojo.
"That monster! Look at what he did to you!" Lucrecia held out her hands. "You were supposed to be an Ancient, not a human full of alien blood!"
"Alien…" Sephiroth laid his head on the cold floor. He looked up at the woman with confused eyes.
"You…were supposed to be my baby." The woman sobbed. She ran a hand through his tangled strands of hair.
"Zack!" Aeris' cries called out once again. "ZACK!"
"What's wrong!?" Cloud cursed.
"He's…he's not responding!" Aeris grabbed the green orb on the floor.
"Can't you do something?" Shelke suddenly joined the group. She glared at Lucrecia, arms folded.
"About him?" she pointed at Zack, her long ponytail flowed over her shoulder.
"Precisely." Shelke nodded.
"I…" Lucrecia pulled her arms inward on herself, suddenly feeling attacked by everyone's stares.
"Can't you!?" Shelke shouted.
"True…you were able to help the president." Tseng added.
"But…there's no more lab!" Lucrecia shook her head. "The labs been destroyed! Am I correct?"
"The only thing left is the lab in Nibelheim…" Shelke informed.
"…There's nothing I can do." Lucrecia lowered her head. "I'm sorry."
"Sh…Shelke." A low moan sounded from behind the young girl.
"Kadaj!?" the girl spun and darted back to where the clone lay. "You're alright!?"
"Barely…" Kadaj coughed, green Lifestream gurgled from his throat.
"Him, however, I can help." Lucrecia kneeled down beside where Kadaj lay.
"Don't move too much, we'll get you somewhere safe!" Shelke ordered the man. A large smile was on her face.
"But, what about Zack?" Tifa asked.
"Aeris!" Cloud shouted.
Aeris was holding the green orb in her fingers, praying to help Zack.
"I have to help him!" the woman yelled.
"Ssstop it." A hiss sounded from Zack's lips.
"Zack, let me help you!" Aeris frowned.
"You can't…you're too weak. It's pointless." Zack shook his head from side to side, his messy hair flopping with each turn.
"Please Zack…what should I do?"
"Be free…" Zack sighed. He sat on his knees, Sephiroth's sword through his body. His arms lay limp at his sides; his large wings were no longer operative.
"Shelke…" Kadaj spoke up.
"What is it?"
"Give this…to Zack…" Kadaj cleared his throat. His fingers dug in a tiny pocket by his waist. He pulled out the small ring he had found in the Lifestream the day he was revived.
"To Zack?" the girl tilted her head.
"Aye! You still got that!?" Cait Sith trotted to where the man sat, leaning against Shelke's shoulder. Lucrecia looked over the man's wounds. Kadaj nodded.
"Take it to him…" he handed the jewelry to the cat.
"What is it?" Aeris asked.
"This…is something that should be returned to its owner." Cait Sith motioned toward Zack very slowly. "You still awake there, lad?"
"Hm?" Zack turned his head slowly, looking down at the feline.
"Hold out yer hand." Cait Sith held out his own gloved hand to drop the item in Zack's hand. Zack complied, lifting his palm upward. The shiny ring was dropped into his palm.
"Oh." Zack muttered in surprise. His brows rose as he looked over the item. "Thought I lost this long ago."
"That's…" Aeris gasped.
"This actually belongs to you." Zack smiled. "I was gonna give this to you a long time ago." The man spoke slowly. He struggled to lift Aeris' hand. The man slid the ring over her tiny finger, a thin smile on his lips.
"Zack?" Aeris asked her tone full of worry. "What's happening to you?"
It was an innocent question, one that hurt Zack just to hear her ask. Reality had finally sunk in.
"I'm dying, Aeris." The man replied rather dull.
"But…" Aeris choked. "What if I don't want you to die?"
"If I could help it…I would." The man breathed a laugh. He was rolling backward, his eyes turning back.
"ZACK!" Aeris caught him, laying him gently on his side as to not let the blade push into him further. "Please don't leave me, not again! You can't do this to me!"
"Third…times…a charm…" the man replied. He was no longer looking at her.
"Look at me! Just look at me one more time!" Aeris cried out, her fingers grabbing his blood soaked shirt.
"Keep it close, Aeris." Zack muttered his voice just below a whisper. "I will be with you; always…you know that…"
"You think it's that easy? You have a plan don't you?" Aeris asked hopefully. "You're coming back, right? I mean…you can come back right?" the woman smiled slightly.
"Nope…" Zack shook his head.
"Zack you can't leave me! I'll hate you!" the girl tried stubbornness.
"Aw…that's no fair." The man frowned. "Naw…I'll find a way back, you know that I'm smart."
"You can't! It…it needs to be a sacrifice Zack!" Aeris said in realization. "That's what it is! You and I came back because we tried to sacrifice ourselves for the planet! Sephiroth and the others came back because they were sacrifices to Jenova for her stupid reunion! Everyone, regardless of being an Ancient or not, are worthy of a second chance as long as they sacrifice themselves for another! There's nothing here! You're just dying!"
"No. you know I can think of something. There's always a way. Always…a way…" the man was fading quickly. He could no longer see his vision passing between bright lights and dark shadows.
"You promise?" Aeris whispered. She closed her eyes, no longer capable of looking at the man. She laid her head on his chest. She cried out. Her heart ached with pain.
Why was this becoming so casual? Why was death a normal circumstance now? Why was it no surprise that something like this had happened? Why wasn't she more shocked? How had she become so numb to everything?
"Cloud." Zack looked around, not seeing Cloud.
"Right here." Cloud said. He placed a hand on Zack's shoulder.
"Worst luck?" Zack asked.
"The worst." Cloud nodded.
"I expect a party when I come back." Zack smirked. "A big one!"
"…Okay." Cloud nodded again.
"Zack." Aeris wrapped her arms around the man's neck.
"Aeris…" the man lifted. "Help me up."
The woman jumped to her feet. "What are you doing?"She grabbed the man's hands as he pulled himself upward. Aeris staggered forward a bit by his weight.
"Cloud…" Zack sighed, the movement letting out more of his blood. He no longer felt any pain. He felt like throwing up, but there was nothing to throw up. Everything was blackening more. He felt like passing out, but that would be giving up. "Pull that bastard outta me."
"Zack. I can't do that." Cloud shook his head.
"Do it!" Zack hollered.
"It'll…kill you." Cloud frowned, not looking at the man.
"Dying anyways, you prefer me to suffer?" the man retorted.
"Zack…Lay back down, please." Aeris pleaded with the man.
"Do it. Hurry. I don't have much longer." Zack looked back at Cloud, his eyes held a strange look. Cloud smiled. He knew that look, no matter how different it was now. It was the look that Zack had a plan. Zack knew what he was doing.
"Ready?" Cloud asked his head looking off to the side meeting Tifa's stare. His hands gripped the blade.
"NOW!" Zack cried out.
In one swift pull; Cloud removed the immense blade from Zack's back. The response was immediate.
"Make it easier for me…" Sephiroth chuckled to himself.
"Just die already!" Cid griped to the evil man on the floor.
"Zack!" Aeris wrapped her arms around the man. Zack gasped at the shock of the weapon being removed. A new wave of pain filled his senses. His body turned ice cold, more cold than he ever felt before in his life. His clothing stuck to his skin, making it all the more painful to move. It wasn't a pretty sight. His head fell forward, resting on her shoulder.
"Everything will be fine." Zack reassured the woman.
"And if you don't come back?"
"I always find a way don't I?"
"I'm sorry I wasn't there the first time." Aeris sniffled.
"It's okay…I managed to get a few soldiers before I died back then." He laughed.
"Please return to me."
"Even if I don't, you need to remember that I'll always be there for you."
"…" Aeris nodded.
"I'll fulfill your wishes someday, Aeris." The man took in another scratchy breath.
"…" she fought back the tears. She wanted to believe the words more than anything.
"Now…one last…thing…" the man lifted his head. His fingertips touched the scratch on the woman's cheek. "Didn't last long enough…earlier…to finish the job." He was silent a long minute.
"I…" Zack began. "I choose life."
"Wh, what do you mean-?" She gasped as she felt a tingle as Zack let the last of his life force from his fingertips into the small wound on her cheek. His hand was pressed in hers, gripping the shining materia. "ZACK!" Aeris screamed.
Zack's fingers removed from the woman's face as quick as he had put them there. He fell back, back, and back some more. His pale eyes rolled into his head, his mouth gaping open. Slowly, his wings sunk into his back. His boots scraped against the rocky cliff behind him. Aeris screamed, reaching out for him. Cloud stepped forward, letting her run into his chest.
"What are you doing!?" Aeris cried.
"Let him go, Aeris." Cloud lowered his head.
Zack fell over the side of the cliff and downward into the green Lifestream below. There was a loud splash as his lifeless body crashed into the liquid. Aeris scrambled around Cloud. She dropped to the floor, yelling for Zack as she watched the ripples smooth out into tiny waves. Zack was gone and he was not coming back.
"ZACK!" She screamed, holding the sides of her head and curling into a ball on the floor. She rested her forehead on the ground. "Why!? Why does this happen to him!?"
"He saved you, Aeris." Cloud murmured.
"I don't care!" Aeris stood. She stomped her foot. "I would have died for him as well, but he can't let that happen! He has to die for me! Why can't I die for him!? Why can't we all live!?"
Tifa stood to the side, her mouth covered as she fought to hold back the tears. She couldn't imagine the pain Aeris must be feeling.
'If I lost Cloud…' Tifa held back the thought. She didn't want to imagine what it'd be like to lose Cloud over and over again.
All the others either stood in shock or were too disappointed to say a thing. There was a horribly long silence, the group having to sit through Aeris' cries and screams.
"Oh no!" Lucrecia suddenly shouted.
"What?" Vincent asked.
"Look! I don't know how long he's had that!" the woman pointed.
"Get away!" Sephiroth murmured.
"What'd you do!?" Cloud shouted.
"Get…away…" Sephiroth closed his eyes, his head dropping heavily to the floor. His hand loosened to reveal a black orb in his hand.
"METEOR!?" Cloud cursed.
"How's this possible!?" Vincent grabbed the materia from Sephiroth's hand.
"…He timed it!" Lucrecia gasped.
"What do you mean!?" Cloud growled.
"As soon as Zack died, that was the death of Jenova. Sephiroth summoned a new meteor!" the woman scientist looked about the crater.
"No…it takes longer than that to summon meteor!" Cloud explained.
Lucrecia closed her eyes, feeling the Jenova cells within her body stir. "We must get out of here as soon as possible!"
"Why!?" Vincent asked.
"Sephiroth! Wake up!" Lucrecia shook the silver haired man.
"A week ago…" Sephiroth muttered.
"Shit!" Lucrecia cursed softly. "He summoned it a week ago!"
"What!?" they all yelled.
"Probably as a backup!" Lucrecia cursed again. "Help me!" she tried to lift Sephiroth.
"What are you doing with him?" Vincent stepped in front of the woman.
"Help me, Vincent." Lucrecia begged. "I know I haven't' repented for my sins. But he's my son. I need…I need to save him, help me."
"Vincent!" Cloud warned.
"How will you save him?" Vincent asked.
"I…I'm not sure." Lucrecia bowed her head. "But I can promise you that if he shows any signs of hostility you can kill him!"
"…" Vincent thought a moment.
"Just let me try. There's nothing left on this planet that contains Jenova's pure cells, this I know for sure. All that remains are the cells within our bodies. Right now, Sephiroth is no more capable of causing harm than Cloud is." Lucrecia eyeballed the spiky blond man. There was an awkward silence.
"…Take him, do what you want. The first sign of anything hostile, we're killing him." Cloud glared.
"Agreed." Lucrecia nodded. She lifted Sephiroth's shoulders. Her eyes fell on Vincent's.
"…" The crater began to rumble.
"Vincent." The woman spoke. "Please help me. I can't…I can't do this alone."
"…I thought I said I was through with all of this."
"I understand…" Lucrecia deflated.
"Vincent." Yuffie approached the red eyed man. She placed a hand on his shoulder. She had seen the look on Vincent's face when he first saw Lucrecia. It took a lot for her to say the next words to the man. "Help her out, for crying out loud. Isn't this what you've been waiting for all these years?"
"Yuffie?" Vincent looked down at the young woman.
"Go help her!" Yuffie shoved him a bit.
"But…" Vincent stared at the girl in disbelief.
"No buts! Now go!" the ninja girl ordered.
"Okay!" Lucrecia nodded. Vincent helped her with Sephiroth's body.
"Everybody to the plane!" Cid hollered. He leaned on Barret for support. "That means you too, lil missie!" he pointed to Aeris. Debris began to fall from the roof and large cracks formed on the walls.
"Aeris!" Tifa ran up to the woman who was still staring at the green waves of the Lifestream. "Come on…we need to get out of here. If you stay here, then you've lost everything. Zack would have died in vain!"
"But…he's down there. I can still save him…" Aeris mumbled softly.
"No! Aeris! He's dead! Now come on!" Tifa grabbed the girl's arm. In one tug Aeris was lifted to her feet and being pulled, kicking and screaming, out of the crater.
The Highwind rushed through the air at full speed. Cid let all rocket boosters off at once, trying his best to get away from the Northern Crater as soon as possible.
"Look!" Lucrecia cheered. She pointed to the sky.
"It's already here!" Tifa gasped.
"Yes! But it's size!" Lucrecia smiled.
"It's too small to cause any serious damage!" Tifa announced.
"Why is that?" Yuffie asked.
"Sephiroth, he was too weak! I bet he wasn't able to conjure enough energy to form a deadly size!" Lucrecia hypothesized. "He has been having trouble channeling her energies, right? And not to mention, he's in critical condition right now. It's not going to cause as much harm as he planned!"
"Then that means were all safe!?" Barret asked.
"Should be…but it's hard to tell. It very well may cause a shift in the rotation of the planet, or cause a major cloud of dust to cover the planet. And that may be just as bad as crushing the place into bits." Lucrecia glanced out the window of the airship. "But…Hey! What's…that?"
"…" Everyone watched as a bright green light flooded out of the crater's mouth.
"Lifstream!" Cloud shouted. "It's the Lifestream!"
"Just like last time!" Tifa smiled. "I can't believe it!"
"Zack…" Cloud sighed. "Damn it man, do you ever rest?"
The group watched silently as the tiny meteor crashed into the Northern crater. The bright light of the Lifestream battled with the giant space boulder. It eroded into tiny pieces and then those pieces were crumbled too, until there was half the meteor left. After a few seconds the meteor finally made contact. It may have been tiny, but there was a large shockwave that blew across the planet. Besides that, there was no major harm done to the planet. Sephiroth's last and final attempts would have only been of his benefit if they all had remained in the crater. But he had warned them all beforehand. Lucrecia smiled to herself at the thought. That meant he was showing emotional attachment.
Cheers sounded from aboard the plane, only one person was silent and that was Aeris.
'Everyone's safe…except for Zack.' Aeris frowned.
"This is all your fault!" Aeris sobbed. She glared at the silver long haired man lying atop one of the tables in the lower level of Cid's plane. Kadaj also lay a few feet away, medical machines beeping. He was out cold, unaware of the woman in the room with him and Sephiroth. "Zack would still be alive if it weren't for you!"
The woman held onto the heavy sword in her hand, Sephiroth's sword.
"You deserve to die the same way he died!" Aeris raised the weapon over her head and took a very deep breath.
Okay! Have to end it here for the night! Im sorry, but there was a lot to add to this chapter so it was kinda a mouthful! Lol. Hope you enjoyed it nonetheless! I'm goin to bed now! Thanks for reading and reviewing!-Annubis